Barely more than two weeks now stands between the citizens of Franklin County and our beloved annual Franklin County Watermelon Festival. 

In its 39th year, the Watermelon Festival is the must-not-miss event of the summer. Hosted by the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce, this annual gathering is, for many, the highlight of August; the highlight of the season; maybe even the highlight of the entire year. 

And yet we know some folks will probably miss out on their chance to attend this year’s festivities. 

We want to encourage you to mark your calendar right now and plan to attend. 

From the car show and tractor show to the live music and watermelon contests, there truly is something for everyone to enjoy. So many people put in so much time and effort behind the scenes to make this a spectacular family-friendly event, with the widest possible range of activities and attractions, that it would be a real shame to pass it up. We definitely want to extend our appreciation to the multitude of hard-working folks who are now in full festival-planning mode, working every minute to see this year’s event go off without a hitch.

Aug. 16-17 will be packed with Franklin County fun – not to mention wedge after wedge of juicy watermelon. The streets of downtown Russellville will be teeming with artists, craftsman, vendors, families, food, music, classic cars, pageant queens – the list goes on. We can’t wait to be among them. 

Don’t let this be another year when you say, “Well, maybe we’ll go next year.” If you don’t make time to attend, you are bound to regret it. 

There’s still time to buy your T-shirt and make your plans for the day. We hope you’ll join your friends, neighbors and visitors from near and far for the annual Franklin County Watermelon Festival.